Foolishly seeking gender equity in math and science.

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Science & Technology

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Foolishly seeking gender equity in math and science.

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MATH 55 IS ADVERTISED in the Harvard University catalog as "'probably the most difficult undergraduate math class in the country." It is a notoriously difficult course their does not look like America. Each year, as many as 50 individuals sign up, but at least half drop out within a few weeks. As one former pupil told Tile Crimson newspaper in 2006, "We had 51 students the first day, 31 students the second day, 24 for the next four days, 23 for two more weeks, and then 21 for the rest of the first semester," Said another, "l guess you can say its an episode of "Survivor" with people voting themselves off." The final class roster, according to The Crimson: "45 percent Jewish, 18 percent Asian, 100 percent male."

Why do women avoid classes like Math 55? Why, in fact, are there so few women in the high echelons of academic math and in the physical sciences? Women now earn 57% of bachelors degrees and 59% of masters degrees. According to the Survey of Earned Doctorates, 2006 was the fifth year in a row in which the majority of research Ph.D.s awarded to U.S. citizens went to women, who earn more Ph.D.s than men in the humanities, social sciences, education, and life sciences. Elsewhere, though, the figures are different. Women c...

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